People gather next to the site of a car bomb attack Kirkuk, 180 miles north of Baghdad, Iraq, in this October file photo. Despite a decline in violence in Iraq, northern Iraq has become more violent than other regions as al-Qaida and other militants move there to avoid coalition operations elsewhere, the region's top U.S. commander said Monday. (AP Photo, FILE)
...stronghold that will be the first Domino in the "Domino Effect" of the Middle East.
None of it is true and the facts remain clear.
Iraq is a Shi'ite nation and for decades was oppressed by Western domination of oil demands resulting in a religious war that radicalized the Shia and caused them to become the pariahs, extremists and rebels. The most dramatic example of the Western influence over radicalization of the Shia was the rise of the Mahdi Army (click here).
The post invasion result was complete anarchy and the Holy Men of Iraq were forced to form militias to protect their flocks. There wasn't anything else they could do. As a result there became armed camps within Iraq and the most powerful was the Mahdi Army, primarily because Southern Iraq has always been dominated by Shia, the majority of the country's population.
The Shia were invisible to The West, quite frankly, but they were literally forced into hamlets in the South to form resistance to Saddam's regime living among the wetlands and eeking out survival. To realize they became among the most radical of the opposition to the USA occupation is not a surprise, they were already loosely ogranized under Saddam.
I have always advocated for the majority Shia to come to prominance in Iraq, the USA has always opposed them, seeking only the figure heads of exiles and Western friendly voices as a Central Government, ie: The protests of Shia elected officials boycotting the legislature and Presidential Cabinet. We should be so lucky in the USA that opposition legislators simply boycott sessions of idiocy in voting of the Radicalized Republicans, but, that will never happen. If the Democrats of majority, across the board, boycotted sessions of votes whereby there were no overrides to Bush's vetos, we would see a far different legislature in the House and Senate. Currently, I applaud the "Holiday Happenings" at the Senate this recess and find it refreshing that Senator Reid has a backbone smarter than Bush's exective pen.
That is getting off track.
The Iraqi central government could not find enough police (And I that is police, because until Turkey, Iraq had no invading forces from the outside except the USA Coalition. click here) to bring about stability, the militias did the work no one else could. The radicalization of the Mahdi Army began when King Bremer closed down the newspaper of Cleric Al-Sadr. He was not called Martyr Al-Sadr then, but, reflected his status through his familial devotion to Allah and Islam. I am not so sure, the designation of Martyr is more a Western Media issue so much as a crown to his name and religious affiliation after a pilgramage to Iran.
But, to make a long dissertation short, the Shia have been able to settle Southern Iraq years ago, under a then No Fly Zone. The least violent of all the provinces of Iraq has always been that of the Shia. In recent months a shift by the Central Government to find their own backbone to take control of the circumstances of their people and allign with Iran has resulted in the Shia militias of Iraq to CEASEFIRE and allow the majority of the country to work with the Central Authority to bring about a resolve to tensions. Hopefully, it will last.
Hopefully, the Sunni region of An Albar will find more stability and assistance in that stability by receiving support for their efforts from other Sunni nations such as Saudi Arabia and Jordan. An Albar has been the least abundant in resources, both oil and water, but that is finding resolution as well.
So to adequately address the precieved quite in Iraq.
It is somewhat stability of the Shia province and An Albar, but, that is only after vast amounts of deaths in both those provinces and to date Bush and Cheney have yet to pay for their sins. But, the focus now is Northern Iraq, which under the No Fly Zone became autonomous more than a decade ago. Northern Iraq is where the Kurds have sketched out their province. Oil wealthy and the hub of Kurdish alliance and discontent.
As this article from The Associated Press reveals there is an escalation in violence. Is that a surprise? No. The resistance movement in Iraq, which has many affiliations has simply moved north because of the promise by Turkey to invade and start yet another war with the Kurds this time. While the USA would like to say they are finally dominating the nation of Iraq and a peace has settled in, that isn't the case. The USA has been defeated in Iraq and the 'strong men' of militias and resistance over years of organization have taken control resulting in 'understandings' about what is best for the country and it's people.
We have witnessed An Albar being catered to by Petraeus and Sheiks being assassinated in that realization by the same militias that now visit the northern Kurdish province. This shift in violence is just the next chapter in what was a predominantly peaceful and stable province of Iraq. This has resulted because Bush's leadership has no crediblity in the world or among his own coalition and Turkey has seen an opportunity to war with PKK.
In recent statements from the Iraqi Central Government and in realization Iraq is not a soveriegn country able to fend off a Turkish invasion, the Prime Minister of Iraq asked for tolerance while they grappled with the PKK. As a result, the militias of Iraq so inclined have simply moved their focus from An Albar to the Kurdish provinces. There is no 'better life' for all in Iraq, so much as a shift in violence because Bush can't even provide stability from one of the majority members of his coalition and now Northern Iraq, the Kurdish province is going to suffer because Turkey didn't know how to behave. Just more of the same. Nothing new here. The longer the USA occupies Iraq and it's coalition reeks havoc within it's borders the longer the violence will continue and the more people of Iraq will die.
General Says N. Iraq Most Violent Region (click here)
By PAULINE JELINEK – 3 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite a decline in violence in Iraq, northern Iraq has become more violent than other regions as al-Qaida and other militants move there to avoid coalition operations elsewhere, the region's top U.S. commander said.
Army Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling on Monday said al-Qaida cells still operate in all the key cities in the north.
"What you're seeing is the enemy shifting," Hertling told Pentagon reporters in a video conference from outside Tikrit in northern Iraq.
Hertling said militants have been pushed east to his area from Anbar by the so-called Awakening movement, in which local tribes have allied with the coalition against al-Qaida. Others have been pushed north to his area from the Baghdad region, where this year's U.S. troops escalation has made more operations possible.
"The attacks are still much higher than I would like here in the north, but they are continuing to decrease in numbers and scale of attacks," he said.
Hertling said 1,830 roadside bombs were placed in his region in June, compared with 900 last month....
By PAULINE JELINEK – 3 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite a decline in violence in Iraq, northern Iraq has become more violent than other regions as al-Qaida and other militants move there to avoid coalition operations elsewhere, the region's top U.S. commander said.
Army Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling on Monday said al-Qaida cells still operate in all the key cities in the north.
"What you're seeing is the enemy shifting," Hertling told Pentagon reporters in a video conference from outside Tikrit in northern Iraq.
Hertling said militants have been pushed east to his area from Anbar by the so-called Awakening movement, in which local tribes have allied with the coalition against al-Qaida. Others have been pushed north to his area from the Baghdad region, where this year's U.S. troops escalation has made more operations possible.
"The attacks are still much higher than I would like here in the north, but they are continuing to decrease in numbers and scale of attacks," he said.
Hertling said 1,830 roadside bombs were placed in his region in June, compared with 900 last month....
So, if this issue has to take 'daily tending' at this blog to bring about reality rather than mass media propaganda then that is what will ensue. But, for now some alarming news about The Arctic Ocean. Impeach Bush and Cheney, they have been and ARE 'the problem.'
